non_aliencreaturesfandomcom-20200223-history
Kyra Zelas
Kyra Zelas was a woman subjected to an experimental medical treatment which caused her to develop the uncanny ability to adapt her body's appearance and physiology in response to environmental stimuli, thus allowing her to regenerate from injury and develop immunity from any kind of disease or toxin. History Studying the ability of the fruit fly and other insects to "adapt" and regenerate from injury, the young biochemist known as Dr. Daniel Scott was able to produce a serum with miraculous effects upon vertebrate physiology. By testing it on guinea pigs, dogs and cats he developed animals capable of regenerating from injury and recovering from even the deadliest of diseases. Gratified with his successes, Dr. Scott wished to test his serum on a human being and thus approached his physician friend Dr. Bach. While extremely reluctant at first, Dr. Bach eventually allowed Dr. Scott to test his serum on a patient who had a hopeless case of terminal tuberculosis and was at the brink of death. The patient, a young woman named Kyra Zelas, consented. Over the next days, Dr. Bach observed that her condition had improved dramatically but also that her skin would heal almost immediately from the marks left by injections and other abrasions. Interested in keeping her under close observation, Dr. Bach offered Kyra a job assisting his housekeeper, which she gladly accepted, as she'd always been poor and uneducated and could hardly hope to find better employment. That same afternoon, an old man was assaulted and murdered by a woman who bashed his skull with a rock and took his wallet. Dr. Bach was horrified to learn from the police that the culprit was none other than Kyra. Once taken to the trial, however, both Scott and Bach were astonished at how much Kyra's appearance had changed since the last time they'd seen her. While the witnesses recalled a skinny and unattractive woman with brown hair and dark eyes - matching the one the doctors treated - the Kyra present on the court was magnificent in her beauty and had bright aluminum hair and silver eyes. A sample of her hair was tested by professional chemists, who claimed the coloration was natural, not bleached. She was deemed innocent. Scott couldn't help but notice that when the sun rays illuminated Kyra's hair directly, it seemed to change from aluminum to golden blond. One of the photos taken by reporters showed it instead as raven black. As he keeps observing her, Scott notices how her skin, hair and eyes all seem to change color inexplicably depending on whether she's exposed to light or darkness. He and Dr. Bach conclude that the serum has caused Kyra's pineal gland to hypertrophy, allowing her body to adapt instantly and instinctively to its surroundings. When under light, her pigments become darker. When under shadow, they become lighter. And when facing trial by a group of men, she becomes so beautiful that they ultimately can't bring themselves to convict her. Additionally, they suspect that Kyra's newly acquired abilities will render her practically invulnerable, able to recover from any kind of damage. For instance, she couldn't be electrocuted because her body would adapt instantly to the electrical current. She can't be put to sleep by morphine injection because her physiology adapts and renders the drug useless, and even ethyl chloride has no effect on her. She also demonstrates her abilities by stabbing herself with a knife and pulling it out unscathed. She couldn't even be locked up, as she would adapt and develop whatever strength necessary to break the locks. On top of that, they observe that her attitude has also changed. She becomes manipulative, power-hungry and an exceptional liar. She doesn't care a bit about the consequences of her actions, as shown when she runs over a child with the car and kills him, declaring the whole thing a mere accident and refusing to report it to the police. Despite Scott and Bach's attempts to contain her, Kyra steals all of their money and escapes. Frustrated, Scott destroys his serum, as he concludes that it was too dangerous and not worth the benefits. The next time he hears about Kyra she is in Washington and has seduced the secretary of the treasury, John Callan. When she returns to try to seduce Scott and make him her lover - as she plans to manipulate Callan and other politicians into getting the country into a huge war and emerge as Empress - Scott finds out one weakness of hers: while she cannot be rendered unconscious by morphine or even ethyl chloride, she still cannot adapt her physiology to carbon dioxide. With that in mind, Scott and Bach are able to use carbon dioxide to put her to sleep and operate on her brain, bringing her pineal gland back to its regular state and her appearance back to normal. What happened to her afterwards is not revealed. Appearances *''The Adaptive Ultimate'', by Stanley G. Weinbaum (1935) Category:Characters Category:Fictional Creatures Category:Females Category:Shapeshifting Creatures Category:Characters with a healing factor Category:Mutants Category:Former Mutants Category:Literary Creatures Category:Creatures Created by Stanley G. Weinbaum Category:Image Needed Category:Needs Infobox Category:Mutates Category:Characters Debuting in 1935 Category:Human Variations Category:Humans Category:Criminals Category:Unknown Status